


Eyes of Mist

by atlaskat



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Canon Disabled Character, F/M, Ozai isn't insane, Poetry, Toph is earth kingdom royalty, he's more like a sort of Napoleon, it's arranged but they still want each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2020-09-30 21:44:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20454014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atlaskat/pseuds/atlaskat
Summary: A series of encounters between the prince of the Fire Nation and the princess of the Earth Kingdom.Prince Zuko narrowly avoided banishment, but the Agni Kai against his father still left him disfigured. Years later, the Beifong family of the Earth Kingdom travel to the Fire Nation for political negotiations, and the prince has the chance to meet his betrothed; a most peculiar young lady clad in green silk.





	1. Chapter 1

The first time he sees her it's only for a moment; she's a pale figure against the night. It rains when she arrives -- a soft sort of rain, the kind which blurs the world at its edges. Red Fire Nation lanterns cast their light into the darkness, yet it's but an echo, devoured by the hungry shadows.

He has spent more time than he wishes to admit, brushing his fingers to his face, worrying about his scar. What other prince is as damaged? What woman deserves a disfigured man?

Zuko peers downward from his window. She's too far, just a faintly green shape way down by the castle entrance, there aren't any features to discern. He wonders, does she find the magnitude, the might, of Fire Nation architecture impressive? Does she admire the beautiful red lights that dot the city? Have the walls of Ba Sing Se already bored her of tall buildings?

Then, Zuko thinks she glances up for a moment -- she's still too far, but it's enough to convince him. He quickly sinks back into his chamber, heart racing.

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The second time is in the main hall; they're both dressed up from head to toe, she in so many layers of kimono fabric that he wonders if she can still move, and him in the full, prestigious, traditional armor of his nation. Zuko knows they're separated by a sea of people, each of them at an opposite wall, but he can't help wishing that she notices the intricate dragon pattern etched into the red metal covering his chest. Can't help hoping she finds him stunning.

The green of her kimono cuts through the red hues of the castle. Her black hair flows over her shoulders, contrasts the light colors of her garment. He wants to see her up close.  
  
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There's talk of rebellion in the Fire Nation colonies, which concerns the Fire Lord. The Earth Kingdom is still its own entity, but a lot of control links back to him, so when he arranges for the princess to marry his son there isn't much protest.

A child of the two of them would have the right to both thrones. He needs that child, Ozai knows, to tranquilize the colonies.


	2. Chapter 2

Zuko paces, restless, he knows about the traditions and he has read all the rules. But somehow they still don't stop him from questioning why he cannot just meet her.

_Toph_. He knows her name, pronounces it, turns it around in his mouth. It sounds foreign to him -- an Earth Kingdom name. Zuko can almost smell the earth from within the vowel, can almost imagine the steep hills and stone gardens of its origins. When he has said it a couple of times it curls around his tongue, he can't quite get it right anymore.

It's fit to give her a gift at this point. She has already received many, but impersonal ones, like food or clothes. No, he should give her something more intimate. What do Earth Kingdom women like?  
  
The only person he can ask is Iroh. His uncle, with those laughing eyes, who sees right through Zuko's facade of coldness. He brings scrolls, old documentation of previous marriages. There aren't many -- the betrothals of Earth Kingdom royals with those of the Fire Nation are few and far apart.

One such array of gifts was from the extravagant prince Kaen of the Fire Nation. His love, apparently, led him to gift ships with gardens of fruit trees on board; rice wine sparkling with crushed pearls; the most expensive musical instruments, and even their musicians.

Another prince -- according to legend -- let a chef prepare _fugu_ for his betrothed. Such a dangerous delicacy was sure to impress, if prepared correctly, which it seemingly had not as the princess ate the dish and died from its poison.

Zuko decides to avoid blowfish. Though, perhaps women enjoy bold symbols of affection such as fruit trees on ships -- the Beifong family could sail home on such a ship.

And yet that would still make it impersonal. He gives up.

_What would you have given your future wife?_ He asks Iroh, indignantly. His uncle's beady eyes shimmer.

_Some tea. _

_Tea is much too simple!_ Zuko's anger bubbles up within him. It's always close, always nearly boiling. He doesn't know if it's good or bad.

_Easy Zuko. _Iroh's voice is calm, but there's an element of laughter in it, barely concealed. _There are rumors, you know. About this princess. I don't think she enjoys the... **visual aspects** of most gifts. _

Zuko doesn't quite understand the implications. It feels like a joke, at his expense, at his lack of understanding. Is he unintelligent? Does it mean she doesn't enjoy lavishness?

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He gives her tea. A small box, a beautiful design, carved wood and dark metal pieces. Detailed intarsia of a pine tree on the lid. The tea leaves, dried and dark, from the most expensive tea terraces of the Fire Nation -- from the oldest tea trees in the province, watered with mist and the mineral springs of Aì Luò mountain. Jasmine flowers for sweetness.

_I'm stunned by your knowledge of teas, _says Iroh.

_Clearly I should spend less time with you and more time on the training grounds,_ Zuko answers, only a half-joke.

The dark little box looks scrawny in its humility no matter how much fine red silk he ties around it. Iroh assures it's everything but -- this tea is worth more than gold -- but Zuko feels anxiety rising in his chest.

_Should I add something? _He asks. _Flowers? A tea set?_

_This is enough, _Iroh responds carefully. _You'll have all the time in the world for gifts later._

Zuko still asks a florist for advice. The thin man gives him an iris. _It symbolizes a message_, he says. And Zuko does want to send her a message.


	3. Chapter 3

The third time he sees her he is already annoyed by the _yuino_ ritual. He has received gifts from the Beifong family as well; a string of hemp, showing their hope for the marriage. Traditional clay statues, aromatic incense, fruit and nuts from the fertile lands of the northern Earth Kingdom. Enough to feed him for a month, but nothing from Toph herself.

Zuko tries to catch a glimpse of her face from underneath the thin fabric which covers her face. He knows he's not allowed to look at her directly before the purification ritual, but he doesn't really care for traditions at this point. 

The moment betrays only that her skin is pale, free from imperfections. He makes out full lips, a delicately flat nose. Her eyes are cast in shadow. 

_How is this good? _Zuko vents his frustrations to Iroh. _I want to look at her, speak to her. I know nothing except her name!_

Iroh nods along, more invested in his cup of green tea than Zuko's endless rants.

The irritated prince sucks a sharp breath in through his teeth, a flame igniting from his lips. His breath fuels it, gives it life. He rises to his feet as he swallows it again, feels the heat travel from his throat into his blood.

They're already on the training grounds. The Beifongs aren't far away. He should put on a little show.

Azula is off fighting some battle, and sure -- he doesn't have her lightning -- but his bending is still impressive.

Zuko calls for the musicians. They position their _kotos_ in their laps.

He breathes with his eyes closed -- the most important part of fire bending is the breath control -- a sort of meditation. Clear your mind. Nothing will hurt you, nothing will scar you.

_The dancing dragon, _as taught to him by Iroh, begins with a wide stance. A lowered body, a fluid motion of the arms. Quick feet, move in a large half-circle. Many poets had described a young Iroh's bending as magnificent -- the way he moved like a river through the landscape.

Down against the ground, up into the air, raise one leg into a kick and let it spin the entire body. Fire is energy, it leaves the body like any other force. The energy has to be created -- drawn out from the sea of chi, or simply from the friction of movement. 

The ground feels soft somehow, like it molds itself after his feet. Zuko opens his eyes to land and reaches his hand down within the movement itself. His fingers graze the glazed-clay floor of the training ground -- and pull up a chunk of it with him.

It's _stone. _But soft. Cool to the touch, not heated to its melting point. He loses his balance, and just as he reaches a hand out to propel himself upwards with his fire the ground itself rises to catch him.


	4. Chapter 4

The royal palace goes wild with uproar. Zuko sits with his hands twisting the fabric of his clothes, heat rising to his cheeks, embarrassed as the fire sages try to find the culprit who would dare interfere with the prince's training. They're all scrambling to defend his honor, which only draws more attention to his lack thereof.

The Beifong family are also eager to defend their daughter, but in a way which demeans her; _my daughter is blind, _they say, _and weak, and unable to bend. _He's not sure how many times he has heard this phrase in the last hour.

So when Iroh gives him an opening to escape into one of the gardens, Zuko takes it quickly, barely noticing his uncle's eyes are smiling again.

She's sitting on a stone bridge, her feet in the garden pond. She has taken off several layers of cloth, now there's only a very simple tunic and wide trousers covering her. The long hair is no longer loose; tied up and secured with a thick headband.

_I know you're there_, she says, just as he's about to speak.  
  
_How?  
_

_I can feel it. Toph answers, _and Zuko hears the smile in her voice, she's proud of this. _In the ground. It's part of my bending.  
_

He comes up close to her, decides against his better judgement to sit down beside her. It's unladylike, un-everything of their ranks, to do something like put your feet in the garden ponds -- but something about the freedom of it makes him discard his rank.

_Bending? But that would mean-  
_

There's something wrong with her eyes. They're light, glazed over almost, even when she turns to face him she doesn't quite fix her eyes _on _him.

_What? _She asks, but it's more of a challenge than a question. _Did you lose your voice?_

_You're- _his words catch in his mouth, _-blind._  
  
_You got a problem with that?_

He laughs. He can't help it. All this time he had hoped she would notice all these little things, like a dragon pattern or intarsia on a box. _She doesn't enjoy the visual aspects_, his uncle had said. So then, what does it matter to her if he is scarred and disfigured?

_What? _She asks again, but this time it's a question, an uncertain one.

_Your eyes are pretty, _he says, _they look like mist over the mountains.  
  
_Toph goes bright red, and Zuko feels the weight of how embarrassing those words are only after he has said them.  
  
_Nice show you had going back there, _she changes the subject forcefully.  
  
_The earth bending, was that you?_

_Yep. It was sad, you dancing alone. So I decided to dance with you._

_It's not a dance! _Zuko calls. _It's a martial art._

_Right, right, _there's a cheeky grin on Toph's face, _and this version of fire bending is called what, exactly?_

_...'The Dancing Dragon', _he confesses unwillingly. She laughs, and although it's at his expense, somehow he likes the sound enough not to get upset. _Yeah, okay. How do you even know how to bend anyways? Your family all say-  
  
Ugh, I know what they say, _she cuts him off. _They don't understand anything._

They're silent for a moment, and Zuko is trying to get himself to say 'sorry' when she speaks again.  
  
_The tea was nice by the way._

_Oh, really? My uncle advised me to give it to you. _He bites his cheek after saying it. How come this girl makes him confess such embarrassing things?

She chuckles. _I like your uncle. He talks to me sometimes, he seems like a good person._


	5. Chapter 5

They sneak out to the garden that night. Zuko stumbles there, blinded by the darkness -- she told him not to bring any light -- and is startled by her when she shows up, silent like a shadow. Toph laughs under her breath, a soft fluttering, like a bird's wings. Zuko decides that is a sound he could live in.

He trips over his own feet several times. She is in front of him, several meters, she walks around like it's midday. Toph scoffs and grabs Zuko's hand, leading him through the dark corridors, until they finally reach the training grounds. His hand becomes clammy; she doesn't let go immediately, not even when they reach their destination.

_So, um, _he stutters, and she finally lets go, which he then knows wasn't quite what he had wanted. _You want to fight?_

Toph gives a grunt of agreement, paces out onto the glazed-clay floor. Zuko has never battled someone with another bending type before.

_Aren't you scared that I'll burn you?_ He asks, his voice quivering slightly at the edges. Flames spill out of his hand, illuminating the hall around them. Toph's eyebrows go up in challenge.

_Aren't **you** scared that I'll crush you?_ She asks, a smirk spreading across her face, her lips sharp at the edges. Zuko feels embarrassment at the challenge; she shouldn't do that, shouldn't question him, shouldn't go against the excellence of the Fire Nation's crown prince. But then again, does he really care? Her company is worth more than his pride, he realizes, he could trade his title and his glory and his victory for another moment with her. And really, she is the crown princess of another powerful nation, a bender of another powerful element. What _doesn't_ give her the right to challenge anyone she pleases?

Toph widens her stance, her strange white eyes glimmering with the light of Zuko's flames. He stalks around her, but she shifts her body to face him with each step.

Zuko relaxes. And thinks. Earth benders will stay grounded at all times. Will she make the ground soft again, or will she keep the clay hard to block his flames? He drops close to the ground, hands forming a butterfly shape, and thrusts a larger flame agains her legs. She jerks her right leg and brings down her foot hard, blocking the fire with a solid piece of clay. _Great, _Zuko thinks, _hard bending. _

He decides to dance like a dragon again, the fluidity of a dragon's movements should counter the robust nature of a badger mole. Zuko spins and brings his core forward, pushes himself from side to side between the pillars of stone Toph erects in his path. Quickly, he darts to the left, hoping to surprise her on her more vulnerable side. He trips over a low brick-like structure, and before he knows it she has him pinned to the floor with shackles of stone. She releases him just as quickly. A real master of their martial art doesn't actually need to hit their opponent, or keep them restrained for long; they merely show when and where they could have been able to deal the finishing blow.

Zuko picks himself up again. This time he kicks his leg high, exerting a massive flame from his pointed foot, and brings it down right beside Toph. She doesn't even turn -- her back is to him -- and yet another wall shoots up between her body and the fire. He can't even get close to her. Like a bat, she feels where he is, she doesn't need eyes like him. All she needs is her bending, and the ground. The only way to even approach her is to avoid touching the ground.

Toph has kept large chunks of stone in the air, floating them around as ammo, and so Zuko jumps. He shoots out huge flames to propel himself, which then disperse into the air; it becomes hot, despite the night. He doesn't know if she can use the floating blocks to track him, so he jumps from one to another, only to keep himself off the ground. Toph seems immediately disoriented. Zuko can see the thoughts racing in her head by the expressions flashing across her face; her brows furrow in confusion, then realization dawns on her and he knows what she will do only a split second before she does. He once again lets out a burst of flames to gain even more height, leaving the stone right before she drops every single one of the blocks, allowing them to sink back into the floor. He only has a split second before the planet pulls him down again, but he enjoys the moment, a moment in which he almost becomes a dragon.

Zuko comes down right above her, and extends his body, planning to slam his feet down to gain footing and balance so he can catch her. But he doesn't. The floor softens, melts away under his feet, and his plan is torn to shreds. Toph, instead, extends her arm and grips his waist, supporting him as the ground becomes solid again.

They're quiet for a few seconds. And then, as if on queue, they both burst out laughing.


End file.
